I always use 400 ISO as the highest level in my K10D. But I took this pic in a falconry exhibition, inside a castle and with a poor bulb light above the bird. I was very surprised when i saw almost no noise in the pic at 800 ISO. I don't understand why sometimes the noise is horrible and other ones you barely see it. Any idea from a more expert person?

[flippedgazelle]

I always use 400 ISO as the highest level in my K10D. But I took this pic in a falconry exhibition, inside a castle and with a poor bulb light above the bird. I was very surprised when i saw almost no noise in the pic at 800 ISO. I don't understand why sometimes the noise is horrible and other ones you barely see it. Any idea from a more expert person?

I'm hardly an expert ( ), but I'll post my own observations regarding "noise"...

OOF areas tend to demonstrate more noise.
Medium-luminance OOF areas tend to demonstrate even more noise.
Textures - feathers, hair, etc. - can often hide noise.
Processing tends to increase evident noise. As you push exposure, saturation, etc., noise becomes more visible. If you nail the exposure in the camera, even ISO1600 looks good to me.

Here's my own sample taken at ISO1250, no noise reduction applied in PP:



PS - that falcon looks cool, with the muted colors and the huge pupil!

[juanraortiz]

I take note of your hints, flippedgazelle. Thank you very much. It's incredible you duck was taken at ISO1250 . With a K10D?. I don´t see the noise and looks great!!

[Sailor]

This picture of a falcon is wonderful. People stress that proper exposure minimizes the impact of noise at high ISO. Your picture appears perfect in that regard.

Jer

[axl]

@OP: Great shot, and I agree, there are times when even 400 seems too noisy for me and there are times when even 1000-1250 is OK

@flippedgazelle: now I konw why ....

BR

[juanraortiz]

@OP: Great shot, and I agree, there are times when even 400 seems too noisy for me and there are times when even 1000-1250 is OK

@flippedgazelle: now I konw why ....

BR

Many thanks, axel. I think the hints of flippedgazelle are great.

[vievetrick]

Some things I noticed bring out more noise as well, WB if it is off it seems (to me anyway) bring out more noise, a dark background (at least with me) always bring out more noise. I like your shot are you shooting through glass seems a little soft to me. Oh I am with you on the highest ISO I really like to use on my K10 is 400. I tried a K7 for a weekend via a rental and was very happy with ISO in regular use at 800

[flippedgazelle]

I take note of your hints, flippedgazelle. Thank you very much. It's incredible you duck was taken at ISO1250 . With a K10D?. I don´t see the noise and looks great!!

I used a K2000, which has the same sensor as the K10, although K2000 supposedly has slightly less high-ISO noise due to electronics revisions.

Of course, it's easier to hide noise at 800x535 resolution.

I once did a non-scientific test, where I shot the same scene at ISO 800 & ISO 1600, then I pushed the ISO 800 shot in Photoshop by 1 EV, so it had the same exposure as the ISO 1600 shot. Sure enough, the ISO 800 shot was noisier.

[juanraortiz]

Some things I noticed bring out more noise as well, WB if it is off it seems (to me anyway) bring out more noise, a dark background (at least with me) always bring out more noise. I like your shot are you shooting through glass seems a little soft to me. Oh I am with you on the highest ISO I really like to use on my K10 is 400. I tried a K7 for a weekend via a rental and was very happy with ISO in regular use at 800

Thank you for your remarks. My pic is soft because it was hanheld, 1/20 and F4.5 due to the poor light. I was surprised when i saw it was quite sharp.

I used a K2000, which has the same sensor as the K10, although K2000 supposedly has slightly less high-ISO noise due to electronics revisions.

Of course, it's easier to hide noise at 800x535 resolution.

I once did a non-scientific test, where I shot the same scene at ISO 800 & ISO 1600, then I pushed the ISO 800 shot in Photoshop by 1 EV, so it had the same exposure as the ISO 1600 shot. Sure enough, the ISO 800 shot was noisier.

Thank you again. I see is important the right exposure.